Florida Joins International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ Information Exchange Agreement
Nov 10, 2015
IAIS: Agreement Strengthens International Supervisory Cooperation, Promotes Enhanced Consumer Protection
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, together with Felix Hufeld, Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (“IAIS), today announced that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has joined has joined as the 55th jurisdiction internationally to be admitted as a signatory to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (“IAIS”) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (“MMoU”), an international supervisory cooperation and information exchange agreement.
Established in June 2009, the MMoU is an international supervisory and information exchange agreement to facilitate and expedite the sharing of insurance regulatory information among member jurisdictions. This includes information about licensing, solvency matters, criminal and regulatory proceedings. Each member is responsible for abiding by strict confidentiality standards to protect the shared information, while also complying with its own state and federal laws. The MMoU is considered an important resource for insurance supervisors in cross-border global efforts to strengthen consumer protections.
Since the first jurisdiction was admitted in June 2009, membership in the MMoU has grown significantly to now include more than 65 percent of worldwide premium volume.
“I am pleased that Florida has been added as a signatory to the IAIS MMoU,” Commissioner McCarty said. “Florida has played a prominent role in the development of international supervisory standards. This agreement strengthens our ability to work co-operatively with other supervisors and enhances our ability to monitor large cross-border insurers that are essential to the growth of our economy. Such cooperation is critically important to protecting Florida’s consumers.”
The MMoU sets minimum standards to which signatories must adhere. All applicants are subject to review and approval by an independent team of IAIS Members. Through membership in the MMoU, supervisors are able to exchange relevant information with and provide assistance to other signatories, with the goal of promoting the financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations for the benefit and protection of consumers.
“We are glad to welcome Florida, which is the fourth largest insurance market in the United States, as a signatory to the MMoU and to see the number of U.S. signatories continue to increase,” said Mr Hufeld. “In order to achieve our ultimate goal of policyholder protection within the global insurance marketplace, an insurance supervisor needs the ability to cooperate quickly and effectively. The MMoU is an essential regulatory tool–not only in crisis situations, but on a day-to-day basis–for supervisors to foster safer and more stable insurance markets, and the IAIS encourages each of its Members to become a MMoU signatory.”
Current MMoU signatories include, among others, Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, California, Connecticut, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Michigan, Nebraska, the Netherlands, Pennsylvania, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Virginia and Washington.
Click here to see a complete list of signatories and a copy of the MMoU.
The IAIS, a global standard-setting body, promotes effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry in order to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders, as well as global financial stability. Its membership includes insurance regulators and supervisors from more than 200 jurisdictions.
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